Heat in the Kitchen
by Faelise
Summary: After breaking her oven, Levy meets a new man when buying a new one. However, she didn't expect to bringing more than a new oven home.
1. Chapter 1

It was just her luck. She'd only moved into her new apartment a week ago and she'd already broken the oven. Levy had never been the best cook in the world but she thought that even she couldn't mess up a simple lasagne. Seemed she was wrong.

As she stepped out of her car, a buzzing came from her pocket.

I know you've never been as good a cook as me, but honestly Levy, already breaking things after such a short time? Think about what the neighbours would say if they heard, I have a reputation to keep up!

Levy slid her phone back into her pocket and proceeded to the entrance of the store, she didn't have time for her mothers silly reputation.

As she stepped inside she headed over to the electronics part of the store and gandered at the wide range of ovens before her. She had never really used an oven before she moved out so was happy to have one already installed at her new place. She didn't know the first thing about cooking gadgets or what she needed, she hadn't even thought about what size would be able to fit into her small kitchen

"Need a hand there Miss?" A deep voice spoke from behind her. She slowly turned on her feet and looked up at the man before her. A tall, muscular figure stood in front of her, his piercing crimson eyes meeting hers.

"Uh, thanks, I should be good, its only an oven after all"

"Alright, I hope you do, can't tell you how many people end up wasting their money buying these and having them break after a week"

She didn't want to mention she was one of those people.

"Well, Mr Expert, what would you suggest?"

"Whats yer size?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'll have you know that I may look short, but I'm taller than my mother!"

"I uh.." His hand rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at the floor "I meant measurements for the oven, width, height.."

Levys cheeks turned a rose red, she joined him in staring down at the floor.

"I'm sorry, I'm just used to people asking about my height"

She slowly lifted her head, pushing her blue locks out of her face. His eyes were tracing their way over her small body whilst a smile arose on his face.

"No problem shorty" he chuckled to himself

"My names Levy, you can call me that instead of some silly nickname"

"Gajeel"

"Nice to meet you"

"Same, now uh, measurements for your kitchen?"

"Oh, uhhh" She had none. She had brought everything she needed, even made sure she would have enough money to buy an oven on the spot. Measurements. Damn it

"I didn't bring any"

"Then how'd you know if what you buys gonna fit?"

"Well, I thought I could just buy one, not like I'm going to be using it for much anyway"

They walked their way though the aisles as they conversed, her eyes found themselves trailing away from the appliances that surrounded her to him. His arms and face were covered in piercings. Under his shirt, she could make out the lines of his stomach, he was well built. His long, black hair fell down over his back and ended at the top of his jeans. He wore a pair of dark brown boots that almost matched her eyes.

"Shorty?"

"Wha?"

"I asked if you liked any of these" She had been so lost in his body, she hadn't heard a single thing he'd been saying.

"Yeah, looks nice"

"Its not just about looks, will it fit?"

She turned on her heels to see what he was talking about. Before her, the exact same oven she'd managed to break within a week. It couldn't have been her fault right, maybe the oven had just been old when it broke. Besides, she knew this one would fit, although she was in a hurry to leave, something made her want to stay just a little bit longer.

"Yes, it'll fit, I'll be buying this one I guess"

She grabbed a nearby cart and attempted to pick up the oven but he box seemed to weigh more than her. She tried and tried to lift it, until a pair of hands dug themselves into the side of the box and placed it onto the cart.

"Here, I'll help you, shrimp like you can't carry this thing"

"Are you deaf!?"

"Huh?"

"I told you my names Levy, I'm not even that short!"

"Alright alright, lets just get you this oven"

His hands gripped tightly onto the handle of the cart and wound it through the surrounding aisles. Levy found herself staring at his arms, his muscles seemed like they could rip open his shirt at any moment. Before she had even realised, she found herself at the counter stood beside him.

"Aww, its always nice to see a cute couple come shopping" A cheery voice spoke from behind the counter. Levy felt her cheeks begin to blush once again. Before she could even protest the remark, his echoed in her ears

"Ain't like that, can't let the little thing carry this on her own" He looked down and her and let out a small laugh. She hit him in the hip and began to push the cart towards the exit. She had forgotten how heavy the oven was and dug her heels into the ground just to budge it. A pair of hands placed themselves beside hers. She was trapped between the cart and his body, she had met him only a short while ago, yet she was now closer to him than she had been with any man. Coming to her senses, she ducked from out of the gap and stood beside him.

"L-e-v-y, you can use my name, like I said"

"Gihi, now show me your car so I can put this into it"

Levy stretched out her hand and pointed to her tiny car, it wasn't exactly her dream car, but it was all she could afford and she was glad she didn't have to walk. Gajeel stared over at the car and began to push the cart in the opposite direction.

"Are you blind? My cars over there"

"This thing won't fit, its not as small as you"

"Hey!" She punched his side again.

"I'll bring it to your place" he said whilst pointing over to his truck "Drive to your place in your car and I'll bring it to you"

"And how do I know you won't just steal it?" She watched him think for a second before diving into his pocket and handing her a set of keys and a phone.

"Now you know I ain't no thief, lets go"

She slowly walked over to her car and watched the man lift the box into his truck from her seat. What had she gotten herself into?

Her keys entered the ignition and she exited the car park, with the truck following close behind.


	2. Chapter 2

How.

How on Earth did she end up going out to by an oven and returning home with a mans phone and keys instead.

Levys mind had been all over the place since she got inside her car. She hadn't known the man for even an hour and already she was bringing him back to her apartment.

Is my room clean?

Did I leave anything embarrassing out?

Will it even fit through the door?

She had become so lost in her train of thought, she almost missed the turning home. Quickly checking her mirror, she could see a partly run down truck right on her tail. For a second, she thought she could make out a smirk from him as he braked behind her.

Beep beep

The phone that sat on the chair beside her buzzed loudly, shocking Levy. As she approached a light, her glance took itself away from the road and towards the phone. Someone had texted him. She had never been one to pry in other peoples business, but she wanted to learn more about the man carrying her oven. The light turned green and she continued onward.

What if its an emergency?

Maybe its his work, or a friend?

Why do I even have his stupid phone

"The hell am I doing!?" Levy said to herself. This man was only going to drop off the oven right? There was no need to pry into his life right?

Beep beep

She quickly glanced over at the phone again. Another message

"Someone's popular" she grunted. Thoughts began to swim about her mind again. Maybe there WAS danger, someone needed Gajeels help. Here they were, driving around an oven when someone could be hurt. Another red light stopped Levy in her tracks and she looked over to the phone again. She couldn't stop herself, he would never know she looked right? She was doing it for the greater good, or so she told herself

Gajeel! Are you coming out tonight? Natsu and the others will be there - Juvia

Also, Lily says hey :) - Juvia

Levy tossed the phone back onto the chair and continued driving home. At least nobody was hurt, just his friend asking him out.

Or girlfriend.

Of course a guy like him had a girlfriend, a guy that good looking and strong would surely have a girlfriend, how could she not have known. Now she felt guilty for checking his phone, but that thought was quickly washed away under the word 'girlfriend'. Why hadn't he mentioned her, and why did the name Natsu seem familiar.

She snapped out of her train of thought to realise she was already on the road home. She parked up outside her apartment complex and turned off the car. Her body tensed up and she remained still. Frozen. Her eyes looked forward and drifted back into space. Why did she even care? He was going to leave after he dropped off her oven anyway

BANG

"Kyaaaaaa" She screamed, her body curling up and pressing itself into her car door. Her head turned to the passenger window to find Gajeel with his fist on the window staring in at her laughing. Her body slowly became less tense and she exited the car.

"Why did you do that!?"

"Gihi, you looked like you were dead so I wanted to check"

"Could have just asked"

"That way was more fun, this your place" his head tilted up towards her apartment complex. The building was fairly new and everything looked like it had just been removed from packaging. She nodded at him and he returned to the back of his truck to remove the oven. He let out a small groan whilst carrying it to the door and placed it down before turning to Levy. He pushed his hand out flat towards her and made another noise.

"Huh?"

"My phone and keys? You got your oven, now gimme my stuff shrimp"

"Not until you use my name, and say please"

"Oh please can I have my stuff back Miss Levy"

"See? wasn't so hard" She replied as she handed over his keys and phone. Her hands then shifted to the large box and attempted to move inside the building before a voice stopped her.

"What you think you're doing now?"

"Going inside, thanks for bringing it but I think I can handle it from here"

"What floor?"

"Second from the top, it can be a hassle but the view is re-HEY" Before she could finish her sentence, he had taken a hold of the box and was bringing it into the main entrance of the apartment complex. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle the box herself, but she wanted to get rid of him, and all of her thoughts as soon as possible. As she followed inside behind him, the door slammed itself shut and her mind began to wonder again. How on Earth had she gotten into this situation.


	3. Chapter 3

Her petite figure had always found a way of fitting into even the smallest of spaces with ease, being inside a crammed area was never a problem, until now. Her small body was pushed into a small corner as she was barricaded in by a large box that was accompanied by a large man. Her thoughts were the only thing that filled the silence between the two as she hoped the lift would move any faster. Despite being new, the lift seemed to go at the pace of a snail and the stairs were usually the quicker and healthier option, but she didn't want to make him carry her oven up 5 flights of stairs.

"You alright shorty?" He looked down at her body, her arms pushed against her chest and her legs stuck together in the corner.

"I'm used to this"

"Gihi, looks like a party trick, could be in a human version of Tetris looking like that"

"Hey, I'll have you know I-" Before she could retaliate, the doors to the lift opened, leading into a small hallway. Gajeel picked up the box and moved it out towards the doors and Levy just managed to squeeze out before the lift doors closed behind her. She pointed at the door on the right side of the hall and began to rumble around in her pocket for her keys. She removed the keys and placed them into the door, opening the door, her body turned to Gajeel before entering.

"I never got to say thank you, for bringing this back to my place"

"I'm not done yet, still gotta get this inside"

"In-inside?" Levy had never had a man inside of her apartment before, aside from her father and Jet and Droy, her childhood friends.

"Relax, not like I'm gonna be sleeping in your bed, just taking this into the kitchen"

"Oh, right, sure, yeah, go inside" She watched him pick up the box and move inside. Her body froze in the doorway for a second.

Did I clean up after breakfast this morning?

Did I leave my dirty laundry out again?

Please tell me I flushed the toilet before I left.

She quickly hurried inside after him, checking the rooms for dirt and anything embarrassing. She gathered a pile of books that sat in the living room and quickly threw them into her room before closing the door behind her. Then she stopped. Why did she even care? Her father had been round when her underwear was on the floor, Jet and Droy had been over when the kitchen was cluttered in old take away boxes. So why all of a sudden, did she care now.

"Oi" a voice called from the kitchen. Levy glanced around one more time before going towards the voice. She was sure anything that could embarrass her was now hidden away in a pile on top of her bed.

"Hmm?"

"Got anything I could cut open the box with?"

"Here" she replied before grabbing a pair of scissors from a drawer and placed them in his hand. He bent down and began cutting open the box. She stood behind him, staring at his back, her eyes not daring to look any lower than his belt. Her eyes scanned around the room praying everything was ok. It wasn't. From the corner of her eye, Levy could see one of her bras hanging over one of the kitchen chairs. Maybe he hadn't spotted it yet? She slowly began to shuffle her way around him and the box towards the bra before he gazed up at her, stopping her in her tracks.

"You alright over there? Can't stop squirming for a minute hey?"

"I was just uh, going to um" Her mind drew a blank, her mind had been swamped with thoughts just a minute ago, where had they all gone.

"I was going to see if you wanted a drink from the fridge" Her mind let out a sigh before realising on crucial detail.

"Your fridge is over that way" He said whilst looking at the fridge on the opposite side of the room.

"Well I was just going to get a chair for you first, so you don't have to bend down like that"

"Thanks, get me the one with the bra on will ya?" Levys cheeks began to turn red before darting at the bra and stuffing it behind her back. She ran out of the room towards her bedroom, hearing a faint laugh from the kitchen as she did so. Running into her room, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Her breathing was out of control and her cheeks were as red as tomatoes. As she regained her breath, she cursed her past self for leaving the bra out before leaving this morning. Curse her for being so indecisive. Her hand reached for the handle and she moved out of the bedroom and began making her way back towards the kitchen. When she entered, she found Gajeel removing the last of the packaging and throwing it into a nearby bin.

"All unpacked, looks like it'll just about fit."

"Thank you for your help, sorry about uh.."

"Your bra? Don't worry about it, just some fabric right"

"Yeah, sorry, so um I guess I'll be fine with the oven now"

"When are they coming?"

"Who?"

"The people who are going to fit your oven"

"What.." Levy looked up at him, confused, who the hell was he talking about?

".. You didn't think you were gonna do it yourself? Do you know anything about electronics?"

"Well I'm not too bad, and its only an oven, just got to plug it in right?" His eyes met hers and he stared at her for a few seconds before looking back down at the oven. His hands rubbed the back of his neck before he began to move towards the kitchen door.

"Wait here shrimp"

"What for?"

"I'm getting my tools"

"Why?"

"I'll do it for ya, seeing as you don't know what you're doing"

"Tools?"

"Didn't I tell you I'm a mechanic?, this stuff is easy for me" Before she could argue he had disappeared, a door slammed out in the hallway and she was left standing alone in the silence. Her eyes fell down towards her new oven

"Stupid thing" she murmured before giving it a small kick. This was going on way too long, didn't he have anything else to be doing? Her body moved towards the table and she threw herself down on one of the chairs. Her head fell to the table as she let out a groan.

What the hell was going on today.


	4. Chapter 4

She hadn't moved. Her head was lost in a sea of blue locks that had escaped from her headband. The whole room was silent, not even her breath could be heard. She was listening for his return. Eventually, she heard a knock her door and slowly removed herself from her chair. Looking thought the peep-hole, she could see him stood there, toolbox in one hand, phone in the other.

Crap.

She had forgotten all about her checking his phone before, hopefully he wouldn't notice or say anything about it. Realising she had been stood staring at him for quite some time, she quickly opened the door, her eyes meeting his as he glanced away from his phone.

"Took your time, that long a walk from the kitchen to the door?"

"No, I can answer my door in my own time"

"I know what it was"

"What?"

"Those short legs got you working double time gihi" he smirked at her and casually pushed by her and went into the kitchen. Levy stood speechless in the hallway, unable to take in what had just happened. Sure, her father had made jokes about her height before, but he had never been that way about it before. She kind of liked it. After closing her door, she returned to the kitchen to find Gajeel kneeled on the floor, hands in his toolbox. She noticed he had placed his locks of hair back into a ponytail that trailed down his back. His hands began finding their way around the wires of the oven and he began humming quietly to himself, clearly he hadn't heard her enter the room.

This piece of metals got heart and soul, give it some love and watch him go

Yeah this piece of metals got heart and soul, why don't you give it ago

She quietly listened to him sing to himself, he didn't exactly sound like the best singer, but she quite enjoyed it. Finding herself relaxed by it, she leaned against her table and continued to watch him work.

Creakkkk

Somehow, her small body had been able to slightly move the table, causing it to creak, scaring both Levy and Gajeel at the same time. Balancing herself upright, Levys eyes met with Gajeels once again

"Spying on me huh?"

"No no! I was just uh-"

"Making sure I didn't steal anything? I get that a lot"

"No, not at all I promise"

"So you were just prying, what's next huh? checking my phone?"

No, I already did that.

"Honestly, I just came to offer you a drink"

"I shouldn't, I'll be done with this soon, thanks though" He continued on with his work and silence filled the room again, she doubted he'd start singing again any time soon.

"I guess you heard me singing then"

"Huh? Oh yeah just a little"

"Sorry, just a little hobby of mine, makes the job go faster"

"Oh no it wasn't a problem or anything"

"You got one?" He turned to face her, giving her his full attention.

"Well, I like to read, and uh, I go out with my friends sometimes" She added, not wanting to sound boring. She hadn't met many men who were into reading and Gajeel didn't exactly look the type either.

"Ah, bookworm eh, my friends girlfriend likes books and that"

"Well my friend is into books so we get along"

"Sounds like fun" He stared at her for a few seconds before returning to the oven. She moved over to one of the chairs and sat down, feet dangling over the side. Her head rested in her hand as she continued to watch him work, something about the way his hands moved made her intrigued to watch. Then it stopped. He slid the oven into place and stood up, looking at his handy work.

"There you go, should work fine for you now"

"Thank you so much, here let me pay you for this" She rose to grab her purse but his hand grabbed onto her wrist, stopping her from moving any further.

"Why don't you buy me a drink tonight and we call it even"

"Don't you have plans tonight?"

She stopped. All of a sudden she had realised he hadn't told her anything, she had been looking at his texts. Her cheeks began to tint a rose pink colour and her head fell to the floor, avoiding eye contact.

"Well.. I mean.. You seem like a busy man, so I just figured, you might already have plans."

"I do, sort of, but I want you to come"

"Oh.. what sort of plans, seeing friends perhaps?" her eyes continued to stay glued to the floor, not risking eye contact.

"Exactly my plans, the bookworm I told you about is going, you can talk to her and buy me a drink at the same time"

"Well, I.. I'm not too sure about this"

"Look, a drink costs less than this, plus ya get to talk about books, win win for ya right?"

"I suppose, bu-"

"Great, I'll meet you at The Fairy Tail pub, not too far from here, you know it right?"

"Well I guess but I'v-"

"Ok, well I'll see you there at 9″ Before she could object, he was packing up his tools and heading for the door. She tried to argue but he didn't seem to be listening as he didn't even reply to her. Before leaving, he turned around to face her.

"Hope the oven works alright, give me a call if it doesn't." His hand reached into his pocket and he pulled out a small card. On the front, some writing about a mechanics business, on the back, he had scribbled over a contact number and replaced it with his mobile. She quickly put the card into her pocket and gave him a small nod, before he left her apartment, closing the door behind him.

Finally he had gone, but she knew it was only a matter of hours before she saw him again, along with his girlfriend.


	5. Chapter 5

Usually, when watching a clock, time seemed to go by slower. But today, time seemed to fly by right before her eyes. Her eyes had been fixated on the hands of the clock for hours until they pointed to 7:30pm. She had been lying on her couch with her books, trying to take her mind off her plans for the night, but nothing worked. Her mind was full to the brim of thoughts, it wasn't exactly a date, but for some reason, picturing his face gave her butterflies. She slowly removed herself from her place and made her way into the bathroom.

She slowly began to undo the ribbon that secured her dress to her figure. The small orange dress accentuated her curves perfectly and flowed out slightly just above her knees. She then carefully removed the orange headband that held back her head of azure colours. They gracefully fell into her face as she bent down to remove her sandals. She cautiously stepped into the shower and slowly began washing her hair.

In the midst of washing out her shampoo, a small buzzing came from the other room, someone had texted her. Her mind began drowning in thoughts of what it could've said

I'm excited to see you tonight - Gajeel

I changed my mind, don't come tonight - Gajeel

Can't wait to see you - Gajeel

Then the bubble burst. She had his number, not the other way round. She continued washing her hair, wondering if she should text him when she got out. What would she even say? She would be seeing him in over and hour, any questions could wait.

8:30pm

She had been drying her hair for quite sometime, the thick locks needed a while to get completely dry. On her bed lay 3 different dresses, accompanied by a few sets of headbands and earrings. Her finger pointed at each one before moving onto the next one. Usually, the dresses laid out would be fine with going out with friends, but he wasn't a friend, and this wasn't just going out for a coffee. Although she was fine with drinking, she hadn't been out for an alcoholic drink in a long time. Wine and a good book had always been a good combination when home alone, but she doubted she'd be able to read at any point tonight. She grabbed all the dresses and shoved them back into her wardrobe along with the pairs of sandals and headbands.

Eventually, she found a shoulder-less blue dress that clung to her figure and ended just before her knees. To match, she wore a pair of ankle high brown boots and a small blue bag she hung over her shoulder. Examining herself in the mirror, she looked over herself and deemed herself dressed well enough to make new friends. As she went to grab her keys, a small beep came from inside her bag.

Levy, please answer me, you haven't messaged me back all day, I'm worried about you. - Mum

She had forgotten to reply to her texts since she had been so busy dealing with her new oven and him. As she exited her apartment, she quickly replied

Hi mum, sorry, I was busy with the oven, a man came over to fit it for me and it took a while - Levy

Her shoes made a soft clipping sound as they hit the stairs down to the ground floor. She kept running her hair through her fingers, tucking the stray curls back behind her ears. She already regretted not wearing a headband, but she had decided she would look more grown up without one. Her hopes were to not be checked for ID like the last time she went out for a drink. Please don't let that happen again. As she opened the door out to the road, her bag vibrated once again.

A man came to fit it? All you had to do was plug it in dear, I hope you didn't pay him! - Mum

She froze. He had tricked her into "Setting up" her oven. She turned on her heels and reached for the door handle back inside before stopping.

He wanted to stay longer.

Thoughts of why he lied began to fill her head, but they all seemed to have no reasoning behind them. There was only one way to find out why he had done it. Ask him

She turned back around and began walking towards Fairy Tail. She would get her answer, whether his girlfriend was there or not.


	6. Chapter 6

9:03pm

She glanced down at her phone as she continued to walk. Although she hadn't been living in the area long, she knew that Fairy Tail wasn't that long a walk away, and she didn't trust herself to drive if she was going to be drinking. Her tastes had never favoured alcohol ever since she first tried it, but she was determined about 2 things happening tonight.

1\. She would make at least one new friend. Levy loved her friends like her own family and although she already had wonderful friends, she didn't need more than her fingers to count them. Hopefully the girl Gajeel had told her about would be a viable option.

2\. She would confront him. How on Earth could he have lied to her about the oven. He had tricked her into coming out tonight and she couldn't just not turn up, he had helped her out after all.

As her anger at the man began to rise, her pace quickened up and she soon found herself walking down the street on which Fairy Tail was located. From a distance, she could notice a lit up sign that had a small fairy placed in the middle between the words Fairy and Tail. Back when she was looking for a place to stay, the salesman had shown her the way to the bar among other places. Back then, she didn't think she'd ever be coming her and now, here she was, standing at the door. Her hand grasped the handle and pulled it towards her, revealing the view inside. The room was dimly lit by small lights hanging from the roof, whilst the visible patched of floor were covered in laminated wood. A crowd of people were stood in the space between the door and the bar, some shuffling to some faint music in the background and others stood in huddles groups with their drinks. As she stepped inside, her body found itself weaving through the crowd of people, being careful as to not get covered in someones drink.

"I see ya made it then" A voice spoke behind her. She froze to turn as a hand placed itself on her shoulder.

"What time ya call this shrimp?" Levy glanced down to her phone to see it was 9:12pm, the walk was usually around 6 minutes but her thoughts had stopped her from getting there any faster.

"I uh, got a little lost"

"Don't worry about it, follow me" His hand left her shoulder and found its way between the crowds of people, pushing them aside as to create a path to the bar. She followed behind him, watching the crowd part at his movement. If she had wanted to get to the bar alone, she would've been quicker crawling than getting through. She carefully perched herself onto one of the stools and found her facing a bright and cheerful behind the counter. The womans hair fell down to her chest with her fringe tied up by a small bow.

"Hello Gajeel, haven't seen you in a while" She said as she began pouring him a drink.

"Yeah, been working, got the weekend off"

"Ah well here you go, and your usual Juv-" Her voice stopped as she stared at Levy, her hand quickly covering her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I just saw the blue hair and assumed you were Juvia. Hi, I'm Mira" She rested her head on her shoulder and shot Levy a smile.

"Hi, I'm Levy"

"Well what would you like to drink Levy?" Levys eyes glanced behind Mira at the drinks that stood on the shelves behind her, she doubted they'd have any fancy type of wine here.

"I'll have the uh, I'll have the-"

"She'll have one of them purple drinks Juvia likes, shes paying too" Mira moved down to the end of the bar, leaving Levy alone with Gajeel. She watched him chug down his drink before looking at her

"I didn't think you'd come ya know"

"Well I owed you a drink for today, even though you lied"

"Ah so you figured it out huh" he said whilst laughing

"Well you have your drink so we're even now" She shot him a smile before seeing Mira return with a tall glass filled with a purple concoction. Levy handed over payment before taking a sip. Her cheeks caved in as the strong drink made its way into her mouth, one more sip could knock her out she thought as she placed the drink back down.

"Not to your taste huh? Yeah Juvia can be a lil strange sometimes"

"Well your girlfriend matched your taste then" Levy quickly covered her mouth upon realising what she had just said. She looked him in the eyes and silence fell between them, not even the music or crowd behind them could break it. Suddenly, he began laughing and didn't stop for a whole minute, no matter how much Levy questioned him.

"What is it!? Whats so funny?"

"She's not my girlfriend, just a friend, what made you think she was my girlfriend?"

"Oh uhm" Levy glanced over towards her drink to avoid his eyes. Struggling to answer his question, she grabbed the glass and took a big sip and swallowed before the strong taste could touch her taste buds.

"Just a guess" she finally answered

"Nah, just a friend like Salamander and the others"

"Salamander?"

"Yeah its a nic-" Before he could finish, a voice called out his name from within the crowd.

"Oh, that's Lucy, the bookworm I told you about"

"Did you just say Lucy?" turning on her seat, her eyes found themselves staring at the owner of the voice.

"Levy?"


	7. Chapter 7

"I can't believe its you!" The woman said before rushing over to Levy and giving her a hug. Her arms were squishing her small figure into her own, making it hard for Levy to breathe.

"Wow, this is a surprise, how long has it been? 4.. 5 years?"

"A long time certainly, ever since you moved away for University I haven't seen you at all" The two women began talking between themselves as Gajeel looked on. His eyes were fixated on Levy and how happy she seemed talking to his friend, her smile beaming from one side of her face to the other. After a short while, they both turned towards him, with huge grins

"Gajeel, this is Levy, she and I used to go to school together until she moved away" Levy stuck out her hand towards him

"I know who she is, I was the one who invited her here in the first place" he said as his hand gripped Levys into her own. He had only just noticed how small and frail her hands looked, yet her grasp matched his own in strength.

"Come over to the table, Natsu and some of the others are over there, I'm sure they'll be glad to see you" Lucy grabbed Levys hand and pulled her back through the crowds of people towards a booth full of people. To the left sat a man with cherry blossom coloured hair, Lucy sat next to him as he placed his arm around her. In the middle, sat a woman who was fixated solely on a slice of cake that sat upon a plate in front of her. The strawberry that sat on top of the slice matched her scarlet locks of hair. To her right, a woman who was drinking a large glass of wine, with several bottles sat in front of her also. Finally, to her right, sat a man with spiky black hair , his arm entwined with the blue haired lady that sat beside him. Her eyes were locked onto his face as he looked up at Levy

"Levy? Is that you?"

"Hey Gray, long time no see" Her eyes darted round the table as most of the sets of eyes looked at her "Hey Cana, Erza, Natsu and" she turned to face the woman with blue hair who had released herself from Grays arm.

"Juvia, I'm one of Gajeels friends" Her hand quickly grabbed onto Levys arm and pulled her down to sit next to her. Gajeel glared down at Juvia before taking his seat next to Levy, leaving plenty of room between the two of them.

"So this is the girl you told me about Gajeel"

"I don't know what you're talking about" He said as he glared at her, she always had a way of saying too much. Despite giving her a look that could kill a man dead, she turned to Levy and began telling all about it.

"He came home and told us how he was bringing a girl tonight. Gajeel has never brought a girl to meet us before"

"Well I've met most of you before, how do you all know each other?"

"Well we all work together at the local mechanics, Lucy and I mainly work at the reception whilst the guys deal with the cars and other things. We usually come down here after work" Gajeel watched as the two girls talked between each other. The light in Levys eyes seemed to get brighter with every subject change, they talked about everything from growing up to books and anything they could think of. Every now and then they would turn to him and giggle about a joke spared at his expense, to which he'd growl at, but he liked hearing her laugh. It floated through the air and into his ears like a sweet melody, carrying with it a feeling of warmth and true happiness. He looked away from her to notice Natsu staring over at him, realising he'd been caught, his gaze moved towards his drink as he realised his glass was empty. Looking back up, he saw Natsu moving himself away from Lucy and towards where he was sat.

"Come with me"

"Why?"

"We're gonna go get another round"

"But your glass is still fu-" before he could continue, a hand grabbed onto the collar of his shirt and dragged him out of his seat. His glance looked back at Levy before he was submerged into the crowd. He managed to grab onto Natsus arm, stopping him in his stride

"What are you doing flame brain!?"

"We need to talk"

"About what"

"About her."


	8. Chapter 8

He leaned his body on the side of the bar as he gave a small nod to Mira behind the bar. Whilst she rushed off to get the drinks, he looked towards Natsu who seemed to be in outer space.

"Oi Salamander!"

"What?"

"Why did you drag me over here?"

"Your drink was empty"

"I don't need someone to guide me to the bar, I'm not that drunk"

"Well we still need to talk about your new friend" Gajeel rolled his eyes as Mira returned with the drinks. He handed over a fistful of cash before chugging down half of the glass.

"What about her"

"Shes not like those other girls you've told me about"

"Shes not like them because I don't have any interest in her"

"So why is she here tonight?"

"I told you, she wanted to pay me and I said I'd rather have a drink" he looked away from Natsu as they both had more to drink. His glass was nearing empty again and he signalled Mira back down towards him.

"2 more Mira"

"I've not finished mine yet" Natsu said as he looked down at his own drink.

"They're for me" Gajeel said as he shuffled about in his pocket for any coins he could find.

"Funny, since you've never brought another customer for a drink before, not even the female ones"

"Well, this is different"

"Thats what I'm saying to you. Look, I'm not the closest person in the world to Levy, but she and Lucy are like sisters to each other. When Levy left to go to University she didn't have time to talk to any of us and I'm sure they missed each other like hell." Gajeel listened to him go on about how they'd all grown up together as friends, how they all protected each other. His glasses seemed to become less and less full as his mind became more and more intoxicated.

"Not even to mention Jet and Droy, Gajeel? Are you even listening to me"

"Who and who now?"

"They're like brothers to her, she loves them dearly."

"So I have competition? Gihi, shouldn't be too hard"

"No, not like that. What I'm saying is, if this becomes something, look after her for us." Natsu looked Gajeel dead in the eyes. He could tell that he was being serious. His mind began to drift to thoughts of how she blushed when she became embarrassed, of how she took more than one step to keep up with him, how her face lit up when she saw Lucy. She was different. A small smile arose on his face before he remembered where he was. Who he was. With all the other girls he'd never cared about the little things, they didn't usually stay long enough to notice. But he'd already heard her laugh, scream, seen her smile and all those things a one night stand didn't always offer. From the way she had been talking to Juvia earlier, she hadn't been disgusted about learning about him, she was curious if anything. He had noticed how a small smile kept creeping onto her face whenever she learnt something new about him. He had learnt all about her studies, her childhood with the others and her family. Her life was on track and that was more than he could say for his own.

"Did you hear me?" a hand slapped him on the back

"What you want now huh"

"I said lets have a drinking contest, since we haven't had one in a while" Gajeel looked down at the empty glasses that sat before him, knowing full well that even with a head start he could take on Salamander easy. Grabbing his hand and shaking it with his own, he signalled Mira and sat himself down on one of the stools. It was going to be a long night.


	9. Chapter 9

Her eyes were fixated on the glass that sat beside her. Despite it having a strong taste, she had practically had the whole thing. Although Juvia seemed like a wonderful person, she had a tendency to talk for a long time, especially about Gray. The whole night she had been dragged into conversation after conversation, she swore she'd told them all about her life about 3 times now. Every time she looked around the table, a small smile arose to her face, she hadn't seen her friends in so long and had lost all contact with them a while back. Now? she was sat drinking with them all like no time had past. Had it been fate that had led her here, or just him.

"Hey Gajee-" she paused mid sentence as she realised he wasn't sat next to her any more. For some reason, her smile disappeared and her feelings of happiness faded, where had he gone?

"Hey Lucy, did you see where Gajeel went?"

"Oh, he went to get another drink with Natsu, although, that was quite a while ago"

"Juvia thinks there might just be a long line, they'll be back soon!" she said as she placed her hand over Levys, a friendly smile gleamed on her face and made Levy feel comfortable once again. Her free hand reached for her glass and consumed the remaining drops of her drink.

"So" a voice spoke from her side, Lucy had moved over to where Levy was sat and squeezed her in.

"What do you think of him?"

"Who?"

"Gajeel of course!"

"Oh, right" Levys head fell as her eyes darted back to her glass, she craved something that would make her forget about him. Even whilst listening to everyone talk about themselves, she wanted to ask about him, she just didn't know how. "Well hes alright, he lied to me but I guess he helped me too, plus he led me to you guys again." Her hand moved its way to her glass and encased it in her fingers.

"I'll get you another one" Lucy tapped Levys hand as she stood, taking her glass with her.

"Thank you" Levy spoke as she sat up, pushing her curls away from her view. Another hand placed itself on her arm as she heard a voice.

"He may seem to have a tough side, but Juvia knows Gajeel has been through a lot."

"What do you mean? You told me you guys grew up together"

"We did, Juvia met Gajeel when he was abandoned by his dad, he left Gajeel all alone and that's when he came to the orphanage" Levy looked Juvia in the eyes, seeing a small tear forming in her right eye, clearly she didn't have the best childhood either.

"I'm, I'm so sorry, I had no idea" her hand reached out for Juvias and grasped it tight, she had never thought about how lucky she was to grow up with a family. She thought about all the things she had taken for granted growing up, even now as an adult, you truly don't know how valuable something is till you lose it.

"Not to worry, we are happy now, Juvia has Gray" she gestured his way and he gave Levy half a smile, when he was young, he never really had an interest in women, so it was nice to see him with someone. "And Gajeel has Lily, and you now too!"

"Oh well I'm not too sure about that" her hand removed itself from Juvias and her fingers found themselves grasping onto her locks of hair, twiddling them about between her fingers.

"You don't Like Gajeel?"

"Well I mean.. I'm not too sur-"

"Because he likes you very much"

"...How can you tell?"

"Gajeel has never let us meet a woman before, and he told me all about you coming"

"Are you sure?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out" Levy gave Juvia a confident smile as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the bar. When there, she found Lucy holding Natsu in her arms.

"Hey Lu, what happened here?"

"Natsu said he and Gajeel were drinking? Although I'm not too sure were Gajeel is now.." Levys eyes darted around the room, he wasn't in any of the booths, not in between the crowd of people, not even on the floor.

"Maybe he just went to the bathroom? I mean if he's not out he-" She was cut off mid sentence as a small noise echoed through the room, in the back corner, tucked away behind the bar, stood a small stage filled with speakers and instruments. On that stage, stood Gajeel.


	10. Chapter 10

"What on Earth" Levy watched as Gajeel attempted to stand straight. He had what appeared to be beer all spilt down his shirt, whilst the ends of his hair were all clumped together and wet also. In one hand, he held another glass, with its contents going over him rather than inside him. In his other hand, he held a microphone.

"Hellooooooo Magnoliaaaaaaa" he practically shouted into the microphone. The crowd began to cover their ears with their hands, booing Gajeel off the stage.

"Not again" Lucy sighed, her hands wrapped around Natsus arms and her hands barely reaching to her ears.

"Again? He's done this before?"

"Yes, and it never ends well"

"Well, what exactly IS he doing?"

"Just wait" Levy looked confused, but turned back to see Gajeel fighting some men who had come up onto the stage in an attempt to remove him.

"GET YA HANDS OFF ME" he shouted whilst throwing them down off the stage, even though he was barely able to stand, he was still somehow able to fight? Now that was impressive. As she continued to watch him fight off the crowd, a hand tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"Levy?"

"Oh hey Juvia, everything ok?"

"Everythings fine, its just that, Juvia is taking Gray home and Erza already left with Cana before they started fighting"

"Oh well it was nice meeting you tonight!"

"Well, I was just worried about Gajeel, he drove here and he doesn't seem able to drive, so I was wondering if I should drive him back"

"Well if you want, I could drive him home, make sure he's safe and everything" what the hell was she doing, she had known the man not even a day and she was already inviting herself over to his place?

"Oh yes, Juvia would be very grateful, here is his address" She slipped Levy over a piece of paper with an address written down. Before leaving, the two girls hugged each other and said their goodbyes.

"Thank you, Levy?"

"Hmm?"

"For making Gajeel happy, he has not smiled for a while and he came home very happy today" Levy blushed at the thought, she made him happy? The whole time they were at the shop he was grinning away at his own jokes at her expense, happy as could be. Before she could respond, Juvia was making her way towards the exit, with Gray resting on her shoulder. Her attention was brought back toward the stage once Gajeel had fought off all of the crowd.

"Now then, I wrote a lil song for you all, inspired by someone in my life" He took a swig from his glass, spilling its contents over himself, before throwing the glass onto the floor.

"This piece of metals got heart and soullllllll, give it some love and watch him goooooo wooooooo yeah this piece of metals got heart and soul, why don't you give it a go." Levy looked up at him in shock, remembering how he had been singing whilst he worked in her kitchen earlier.

"Blueee little fairy, so silly and smallll, she's stolen my hearttt, stolen it allllll" Levys expression to one of happiness to one of pure embarrassment. Her cheeks went bright red as she struggled to hide herself between the crowd, faces all looking her way.

"Oh sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" Gajeel pointed his head to the ceiling, wailing the word into the mic as he did so. Then, he stopped. His eyes fell shut as his whole body fell backwards, landing over one of the speakers. Silence filled the room for a few seconds before cheers came from within the crowd.

"Finally he stopped"

"I didn't want to hear anymore of that"

"Rather different than what he sings about"

"Who is the blue fairy?"

Levy tried to hide her face and hair as much as possible whilst making her way towards the stage, her small stature coming in handy. Finally reaching the edge of the stage, she attempted to reach for Gajeels arm, with no success. She slowly started to crawl across the stage, hoping she wouldn't be noticed, she could do without people seeing her with him after his singing. Finally by his side, she tried to pick him up as silently as possible, which was easier said than done. His body was huge, through the wet stains on his shirt she could make out the lines of her muscles, driving her heart into overdrive. As she finally managed to get him to sit up straight, he opened his eyes and looked straight at her.

"FAIRRYYY" he yelled at the top of his lungs, causing the crowd to redirect their attention to the stage, finding Levy with his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Shhh, come with me"

"Where to shrimpy?"

"Home" she finally managed to pick him up and began walking him to the door. Cheers and whistles came from the crowd as she made her way out to the door, not even daring to see if she could make it back to Lucy. Finally, she had gotten him out of the door and they were heading towards his car on what would be a long journey home.


	11. Chapter 11

Her small frame had been carrying his large body for what seemed like an eternity before reaching a familiar vehicle. Attempting to pull the door open, she had forgotten the thing would be locked. Crap. Her eyes darted up and Gajeel, looking for any sign of a bag he could have his keys stashed away. After realising that they were probably hidden in one of his many pockets, she leaned his body against the truck and started to pat down his body.

"Woahhhh there lil ladyyy" he moaned as his arm swung forward, letting his hand grab onto her waist.

"Its not like that you idiot, where are your keys?" His hand released from her waist as he gave a confused look before turning around.

"Pockets are for things" he giggled to himself. She noticed a small bulge in the pocket that sat on his right cheek. Her hand slowly made its way towards the pocket, before delving inside to fish out the keys. Although the rest of his body seemed rock hard, his cheek felt quite plump yet toned in her hand. Eventually, she dug out two sets of keys, one for his car and the other presumably for his home. She managed to open the door and push Gajeel inside of the car to the passengers seat. His head rested on the back of the chair and his hands fell into his lap, sort of like a huge baby. She tried making his hands grab onto the belt but he simply batted it away, refusing to do as he was told.

"If you're not going to do it, I guess I'll have to" she said with a sigh, grabbing the belt with one hand and reaching out to the buckle with her other hand. Suddenly, she was lying down in his lap unable to move, his hand was pushing her down and it was placed dangerously close to her own cheeks.

"Get off idiot!" she screamed as she managed to buckle in his seatbelt

"Not until you sayyy the magic word fairy" he said as his hand began moving down her back.

"Please! I just want to get you home already" the hand released from her back and she quickly shuffled off his lap and back outside of the car. Making her way around to the drivers seat, she realised that she would probably have to adjust his seat in order to be able to reach the pedals, or even see over the dashboard. Once she had moved his seat forward and strapped herself in, she noticed he had fallen asleep, his head resting against the window. Finally he was silent. She began pulling the car out of its spot and headed for the address on the paper, hoping it wouldn't be too far away.

After a short while, she pulled up to a red light and looked over to her travel companion. Despite the noise of the car, he was still sound asleep, the light from the lampposts falling over half of his face. Many of his facial piercings glistened as watched his lips fall open to let him breath. She studied everything about him, from his rugged jawline to his studded nose, back to those luscious lips that longed for something soft, like another pair of lips. A small green light shone in her eyes, causing her to look back toward the road. She hated what she was thinking, how could she ever kiss him? Her eyes were focused on the road as to not miss the turning to his street, but his face kept appearing in her mind. Those soft lips. She craved them. She needed them.

Before she knew it, she found herself parking outside of a small house, nothing too spectacular but it was beautiful looking from inside of the car. After unbuckling their belts, she swung open her door and moved to the other side, slowly opening his door as to not let his head fall to the floor.

"Gajeel" she whispered in his ear whilst rubbing his arm. Slowly, his crimson eyes open and fixed themselves on Levy

"Fairy?"

"Its Levy, lets get you inside"

"You move fast for a shorty hehe" he practically fell onto her shoulders as she grabbed his arms and brought them around her body. She locked the car and began moving towards the house, noticing that the pathway had several cracks that were filled with weeds, with a few scarce flowers hidden between some tall blades of grass. She unlocked the door and carried him inside, shutting the door behind her. She started carrying him through the hallway towards the stairs despite his pleas to enter all the doors that littered the hall. Once upstairs, she managed to find his room after wondering through a bathroom, a laundry room and a what appeared to be a workout room. She guided him around to the side of his bed before slowly guiding him inside of the covers, she doubted he cared about sleeping in his clothes too much. Before leaving his room, she realised she had no way of getting home, she couldn't exactly take his truck, and she had no money for a ride home. Looking around the room, she noticed a small night stand that sat beside his bed, on it, a small amount of change and a book. Levy picked up the book and sat down on the bed, carefully removing her shoes as she did so. As she flicked through the pages, her body shifted from position to position, until she was lying down on her back, only the light of his clock lighting up the pages a reddish colour. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep on his bed, the book resting open on her stomach.


	12. Chapter 12

Sunlight crept in through the open crack in his curtains. The rays beamed down onto his face, causing him to stir and turn his body away. As he began waking up, his hands rubbed his crimson eyes and they opened to quite a strange sight. Lying on top of the bed, was Levy. She was lying on her side, hands bawled up under her head, with her body scrunched up in a similar fashion. Her blue dress had ridden its way up her legs, just short of revealing anything inappropriate whilst several curls of her hair littered her face. Not wanting to wake her, he simply stared in her direction, watching her chest move up and down as she breathed. Her lips parted to form a small smile on her face and her feet moved across the bedding.

"The hell" he whispered to himself. Removing himself from the bed, he looked down to find himself still wearing his attire from the night before, even his boots. As his eyes met the light from the window, his hand clutched to his forehead as it began to pound. He had overdone it again. He quickly grabbed a clean shirt from a drawer before exiting the room, leaving Levy to sleep on the bed.

After a while, she shifted in her position and awoke to the light beaming over her petite figure. Her eyes travelled around the room, confused as to its sightings. Then it hit her. She remembered where she was and quickly sat up, looking around for the owner of the room, but he was nowhere to be seen. Her feet swivelled to the side of the bed and she quickly put on her shoes. As she walked back down the stairs, she remembered that she would still need to find some way home, since that had been her reason for staying in the first place. As she reached the front door, she noticed a small piece of paper taped to the handle with "Shrimp" written on it.

Shrimp, I have no clue why ya here, but since ya are, sit down and wait till I come home, we need to talk - Gajeel

Her eyes removed themselves from the paper as she continued to move toward the door, she had no intention of talking about last nights fiasco. As she grabbed the handle, a small bell sounded from the hallway behind her, causing her to jump in her spot. A small black figure slowly made its way down the hallway as the bell continued to get louder with every step. From the shadows, a small cat emerged and began to circle her legs, almost pushing her away from the door. Levy bent down to pet the tiny animal as it burrowed into her hand, happily purring away at the attention. Her hand reached down to its neck to find a small tag that read "Lily"

"Lily huh, guess you were the one Juvia was talking about" Upon hearing the name, the cat stopped purring and ran into one of the rooms, meowing as he did so. For some reason, Levy took that as some sort of weird invitation and followed after the cat into the room. Once inside, she found the small cat lying on a black couch in a small ball, his eyes the only way to differentiate him from the cushions. The room was filled with silver and black furniture, matching his bedroom, along with his hair and studs. In the corner was a small chair, accompanied by a side table which held a small lamp among other items. On the other side of the room, a tall bookshelf was standing against the wall, filled with books, trinkets and frames. Her feet headed over to the shelves and her hands found themselves gracing the spines of all the books. She remembered the book she had found last night and how it had been full of song lyrics, small memos and what appeared to be his thoughts.

A small golden frame that sat in the corner of the lowest shelf caught her eye and she carefully brought it into the light. In the frame, she saw a young boy, along with a tall man, that resembled Gajeel with more piercings and scars. The young boy possessed the same crimson red eyes and black hair that Gajeel had, along with a small smile on his face. The piercings still dotted themselves over his face, but his scars did not appear on his skin. Levy couldn't help but smile at the photo, seeing what appeared to be a small Gajeel, smiling away, eyes full of life.

"Ya know its not polite to snoop"

"Kyaaa!" Levy jumped at the voice beside her, throwing the frame into the air, barely just catching it on its way down. As she regained her breath, she looked to her side to find Gajeel stood in the hallway. At his sides, several shopping bags sat, full of what appeared and smelled to be food, which caught the cats attention, causing him to rub against Gajeels leg.

"Well you know its not to scare people like that" She said as she puffed her cheeks at him.

"Anyway, I grabbed some food, go shower whilst I make breakfast"

"But I don't have anything to chan-"

"I'll sort it, now go before set Lil on you" The cat turned to face Levy and gave a small meow before running after Gajeel into the kitchen. Levy placed the frame back into its place before heading upstairs to the bathroom, although she thought about running out of the door, the food in his bags made her stomach grumble, plus she knew she couldn't go outside looking the way she did. She had already been in his bed, besides, if she was going to walk home, she would prefer to do so not smelling of booze and metal.


	13. Chapter 13

After a short while, Levy tentatively stepped out of the shower, wrapping one of the black towels around her body, letting the water drip down from her curls onto her body. Her head poked out of the doorway and into the hall, checking around for any signs of Gajeel. Finally sure he wouldn't disturb her, she quickly made her way into his bedroom, slowly shutting the door behind her. Her body rested against the wood as she let out a sigh of relief, causing more droplets to fall from her hair and onto the floor. She removed the towel from around her body and began to dry her curls, staring at herself in the mirror as she did so. Looking down at her chest, her smile fell from her face as she thought about her friends. She remembered how Lucy had always been bigger in the chest departement than Levy, but her curves could give her friends a run for their money. After being content with drying herself, she placed her hair back into a messy bun before turning her mind to attire. Sat on the bed, was a large black top, accompanied by some dark grey shorts and socks. Clearly from their size difference, the clothes would be way too big, especially considering his very toned, muscular body with those amazing abs and those..

"The hell are you doing Levy" she said whilst pinching herself on the arm. How could she be thinking like this?, what on Earth was she doing?. She threw the wet towel into a washing basket before pulling the shirt over her head. Looking in the mirror, she noticed the shirt came just before her knees and, although it was baggy, somehow still complimented her figure well. As she picked up the shorts, they almost seemed to shrink in her hands, no way they could be his. She pulled them over her legs and they seemed to disappear under the shirt, only a small line of fabric sticking out. The fabric clung to her thighs but felt soft and comfortable, carrying the smell of metal and cologne along with them. She slid on the socks and quickly exited the room, following the delicious smell that came from the kitchen downstairs. Upon entering the kitchen, she saw Gajeel standing at the cooker. She noticed he had an apron loosely tied around his waist, mimicking the loose style of the ponytail his hair found itself in.

"Good morning" she spoke whilst finding her way over to the table.

"Morning shrimp, clothes fit ok?" he turned to face her, glancing her body over before turning back to the pan.

"Yes thank you, I'm surprised the shorts are yours"

"You're wearing them? I couldn't tell" he laughed to herself, causing Levy to tug at them and show him. "Besides, they're not mine, I found them in a drawer, guess Juvia musta left them here or something."

"Well why haven't you given them back to her yet"

"Because you're wearing them"

"Haha" she said sarcastically. Her eyes watched the flames of the hob, the bright blue resembling her hair, and the red resembling his eyes.

"What are you making?" she asked

"Pancakes, hope ya like them"

"I do, although I can't make them myself" His eyes met hers, his expression mimicking one of someone who had just heard serious news.

"You are joking right?"

"I really wish I was" her eyes fell to the floor in embarrassment. Her mother had always been a wonderful cook, making everything from fancy breakfasts to beautiful dinners. But Levy, well, she broke her oven after trying to cook the last time.

"Come here then" his hand reached out for hers, calling her to his side. She moved from her seat and stood beside him, watching as he talked through everything from making the batter the right consistency, to making the perfect circle shape. As the pancakes continued to cook, their bodies became closer and closer.

"Give it a try" he said whilst taking his hands off the pan, allowing her to move closer to the cooker. She began pouring on the mixture, attempting to make the circles as perfect as he had done. Once the pancakes began forming, she moved the pan away from the stove.

"I'm gonna flip them, ready?"

"Go ahead" he stood behind her, watching as she tried her hardest to get them to flip, yet all they did was tiny jumps inside of the pan. He couldn't help himself and soon found himself laughing at her misfortune.

"Its not funny! help me if you're so great at it" she huffed at him

"Fine, I will" he said, moving his body closer to hers. His arms made their way around her waist and his hands softly cupped hers. He moved in time with her, causing the pancakes to flip around majestically in the pan. Their bodies merged into one, as her body moved into his. After the pancakes were done, she looked back at him, her head nuzzled into his chest.

"I uh, thank you" she spoke slowly, daring not to break eye contact. From where she was, he looked better than he had ever done. She could feel the softness of his skin on her own, his breath softly blowing into her hair, his heartbeat right up against his chest. He looked down at her and saw a soft smile grace her face, before they fell into a small pout, the way a woman looked before she was kissed. His free hand rose to her waist, letting his fingers curl up the fabric of the shirt in his fingers. Her hazel eyes suddenly moved away from his, towards his lips, a small smirk appeared on them as one of her hands found its way onto his chest. She could feel not only his abs, but his erratic heartbeat. Their heads seemed to get closer until they were about to touch. They both wanted it. They both needed it.

Then they heard a knock on the door.


	14. Chapter 14

Their eyes fell from each other and towards the door, snapping them back both into reality.

"I should really get that" His hands lowered from her body, he craved to stay longer but he knew people only really came to his place in an emergency.

"Yeah, uh sure, I'll just be in here" her hands moved from his body and her fingers intertwined with her own. As he left the kitchen, she angrily stacked the pancakes onto her plate, drowned them in syrup and thumped her head on the table, cursing herself. How could she have almost kissed him? It was one thing to fall asleep on his bed, but what if he didn't want to kiss her. As the pancakes continued to drown in a pool of sweet syrup, she drowned in her own doubtful thoughts.

His hand grabbed the handle and opened the door to a perky blunette. A smile lit up her face as she almost pushed her way inside, luckily, his arm managed to block her entrance.

"What's wrong?" she asked curiously, usually, if she was at his door, he'd let her in straight away.

"You can't come inside"

"And why is that? Juvia always comes in" Gajeel bowed his head and scratched the back of his neck, hoping an answer to her question would magically appear

"What do you want?"

"Juvia came to check if you got home safely, Levy said she would bring you so Juvia could go with Gray"

"Well, here I am safe and sound, now goodbye" he grabbed the door and attempted to shut it, unfortunately, she ducked under his arm and made her way inside.

"What's wrong Gajeel? Did something happen?" she slowly started moving into the hallway, despite his stern words

"You need to leave, nothing is happening" As Juvia continued to look around, Pantherlily wondered into the hallway and meowed at Juvias legs.

"Hello Lily, is everything ok?" he let out a small meow in response, almost as if he knew what she was saying.

"Alright, Juvia is sorry for coming in, I'll leav-" her words trailed off into the silence as her eyes fell to the floor. Besides Gajeels brown boots, sat a smaller pair of ankle high brown boots, a pair that seemed oddly familiar.

"Aren't those.. Levys shoes?" her arms crossed over her chest as a small smirk formed on her face.

"No" he said very unconvincingly, he had never been good at lying, mostly because half the time he was too honest for his own good. He knew the second his eyes met hers she would know, and the last thing he needed was her telling everyone Levy had stayed the night. PantherLily became restless and started meowing at Juvia once again, once she looked down at him, he ran straight into the kitchen.

"So, she's not in there, is she?" she turned herself around and began walking towards the kitchen, Gajeel chased after her, thinking of a way to stop her from entering. But it was too late. As he entered in behind Juvia, he found Levy sat quietly at the table, stroking Lily on her lap as he happily purred away.

"Hello Levy! I'm surprised to see you here"

"Oh, Juvia, hello" she looked up from her lap with a nervous look on her face.

"Its not what you think" she quietly muttered. How could she have let herself get into such a situation. Her cheeks blushed a bright red as she thought about all the things Juvia must have been thinking. Her fingers held tight to the cloth of her shirt and twiddled it between her fingers.

"I don't think anything, Juvia is just glad to see Gajeel ok, thank you Levy" Levy let out a sigh of relief at her words, at least someone understood.

"Yeah, not like we'd do anything anyway" Gajeel began to speak "I mean she's just a shrimp, can't even handle a drink" he nervously chuckled to himself, but it seemed that he was the only one laughing, as the girls both stared at him, shocked and confused at what he said.

"Well I better go" Levy mumbled quickly before rushing out of the kitchen. She headed out into the hallway and grabbed her bag and shoes, not even stopping to tie them up and in an instance, she was out of the door. Her feet carried her down to the end of the street, not daring to look back. How could he say something like that? She thought that they had made some progress, she thought that he may have even liked her, clearly not. Eventually, she stopped beside a bench and collapsed onto it in a mess. Her head fell into her hands as she struggled to regain her breath. The tears trickled down her face and fell onto her bare legs. She hated him.

Gajeel quickly pushed past Juvia and ran out of the open door, desperately searching for any sign of her, but she was already gone. The cold air whirled around him but he stood silently in the doorway, staring out into the street. He slowly turned and headed inside, shutting the door behind him. He leaned on the wood and placed his hand over his face, what on earth had he been thinking. His intentions were to eliminate any wrong ideas Juvia may of had, but he didn't want to make her run off like that, not without telling her how he really felt. Eventually, he pushed himself from the door and was confronted by Juvia, her eyes staring deep inside of his soul.

"Talk. Now" she protested, he shuffled inside and followed her to the kitchen to talk through what had happened this morning. It was going to take a lot to make it up to Levy, and he'd do anything to get her back.


	15. Chapter 15

After an hour of walking, Levy finally stepped inside her apartment an practically collapsed in the hallway into a ball of mess. Her cheeks were red, her legs were colder than the inside of a freezer and her heart rate wouldn't calm down. The walk home had been gruesome and long, with the cold morning weather not helping. Her boots hadn't been made for walking such extreme lengths, neither were the shorts. After a few minutes on the floor, she finally regained her breath and moved her way towards her bedroom. She kicked off her boots and fell back onto the bed, hoping to be absorbed by the sheets and never head of again.

He had spent the last hour going about his normal Sunday, except with a lot more cursing. His head sank in the shower as the water poured over his body. He hated himself. For lying, for letting her leave, for being such an idiot. He walked downstairs to find Juvia still sat in the kitchen, the same stern look on her face from before.

"Ready to talk?" she looked up at him, hands folded of her chest.

"I don't need to talk about it, I'll sort it" he grunted, he didn't want to delve into the subject of how she had interrupted their passionate moment.

"So, what's your plan?"

"I'll go over and talk. Solved" Juvia moved from her seat and stood in front of Gajeel, looking up and down before flicking him in the forehead.

"Ow, what was that for?" he groaned

"She needs time, wait a while before you talk to her." She slowly slid by him, heading towards the door. He grasped his forehead with his hand trying to take in what had just happened, following after her before she left.

"Wait!" He called out "How much time" she turned on her feet to face him, standing in the doorway.

"You'll see" she said before exiting his house, closing the door on her way out. He stood silent, staring at the wood that separated him from the outside world. He slunk back into the kitchen and began cleaning up from the mornings breakfast. He stared at the unfinished pancakes on the plate, remembering their embrace as the pair made them together. Then he threw them in the bin before moping upstairs to his room.

After falling asleep for a few hours, Levy awoke to the sound of her phone ringing from the hallway. She rose from her bed and shuffled out to check who it was, only to find the phone had stopped. She looked to see that her mother had been calling her, probably wanting to poke more fun at her idiocy. Her mind went over all the things he had said yesterday, all the emotions he had made her feel. She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and brought it to her face, taking in the smell of metal and sweat, a weird yet wonderful combination. Scrolling through her contacts, she spotted his name and raised the phone to her ear. After a few beeps, a familiar voice spoke on the end.

"Hello?" a sleepy and confused voice responded

"Hi.. Its uh, Levy" she spoke quietly, her stomach twisting into knots as she did so. Upon recognising her voice, he shot up from his bed and began pacing around the room.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't-"

"Don't worry about it, I realised I was probably being stupid this morning" she muttered, her free hand twisting a stray curl of hair from nerves.

"But you wer-"

"Anyway" she cut him off mid sentence, not wanting to let herself hear what he had to say and hurt her any more "I realised I still have your clothes and you have mine, so I was wondering if I could drop them by later?" Silence fell on the other end of the call, making her think he had hung up. She bashed the side of the phone with her hand before hearing a faint breath from the speaker.

"Sorry, I was just thinking, how about you come round tonight, we exchange clothes and I can cook you something to eat, seeing as you still need to tell me what happened last night" This time it was her turn to fall silent. A wave of nerves washed over her body as she thought about what happened the last time she was in his kitchen, but she needed her clothes back, and he was a pretty impressive cook.

"Sure, although the food might be more appetizing than the story" she giggled down the phone and heard him laugh along in response.

"Ok, well come round about 8pm?"

"Sure, its a date" the words left her mouth before she had even realised what she was saying. She removed the phone from her ear and quickly hit the end call button, before throwing the device into a nearby cushion. Her whole body froze as it was overtaken with nerves, not daring to move a single step. Between the silence of her apartment, the cushion let out a muffled beep sound and her hand slowly reached over to her phone.

Date it is then, you bring the drinks ;) - Gajeel

Her hand quickly grabbed onto the side of her couch to stop herself from falling. She took the phone and quickly ran into her room, giddily laughing as she shut the door behind her.


	16. Chapter 16

The drive to his house hand't felt this long last night, but now the butterflies in her stomach were driving her crazy. Every small road seemed to last for what appeared to be several miles, yet she knew just how short they were. After stopping off to grab something to drink, she had almost turned the car around to head back home, but the image of his smile helped her continue towards his place. Eventually after what seemed like forever, she pulled up outside of his house and stepped out of the car. She could see a tall figure moving about through a window, almost dancing around the room in delight. Getting closer to the door, she could hear the familiar sound of Gajeel singing in the kitchen. As she reached up to the doorbell, the music stopped and footsteps moved their way towards the door. She looked up to find him smiling down at her, hands encased in oven mits. He wore a clean white shirt and black formal pants, his slick, black hair tied up in a ponytail, just the way she liked it.

As he opened the door he was met with her mesmerizing locks of blue hair, neatly tied up in what appeared to be a bun. Her body was encased in a small orange dress that ended just short of her knees. With her small bag strapped over her shoulder and a brown one in her hand, his eyes didn't ever want to leave her body.

"You look.. great" he greeted her as he directed her inside the house.

"As you do" she turned to give him a small smile as she kicked off her sandals and placed down her bags.

"I brought a bottle of wine, and I got you a beer, since I'm not sure if wine is your thing"

"If its your thing, its my thing" he said as he brought the brown bag into the kitchen and placed it on the table. As she followed in behind him, a delightful smell overwhelmed her senses and she practically had to shut her mouth to stop herself from drooling. On the stove, she noticed several pots and pans full of sauces, soups and scrumptious smelling steak. She began delving into the bag and pulled out the bottle of wine as he brought over two glasses. After pouring them both a glass, Gajeel retied an apron around his waist and continued to cook. She slowly sipped on her drink as she watched him cook, the way his hands carefully handled each part of the dish astounding her. When she had first met him, his looks had fooled her into thinking he was a tough, strong man with no heart, how wrong she was. Sure, she was right about him being tough and strong, but his heart was big, it cared for his friends, his cat, everything that made him smile. Time flew by and before she knew it, they had eaten their way through a delicious soup starter and was making her way through the delectable meal on the plate on front of her. The conversation hadn't dropped once, apart from when they were both eating, and even that silence seemed to be filled with something. The pair exchanged stories of their friendships with Natsu and the others, their work and everything in between. As she placed her cutlery down on an empty plate, she looked up to find him softly smiling at her, his crimson eyes piercing into her heart and making it beat faster than ever.

"Wow.. That was incredible"

"You think that's good?, you'll have to try my other stuff some time"

"You're on" she sipped on the last of her wine and stared down at her phone, among the few messages she'd received from Lucy asking about her time, she realised the time was just past 11pm.

"Oh my goodness, its getting late, I should really go" she quickly pushed her phone back into her pocked and stood up to leave, but something was stopping her. She felt a soft touch on her arm and turned to find Gajeel stood behind her, holding gently onto her arm.

"Wait" he spoke quietly as he closed the gap between them, his face only inches away from hers "We have unfinished business" his hand released from her arm and rose to cup her face. His fingers brushed back a stray hair and tilted her chin up to face him. His other hand slowly made its way around her back and puller her close into his grasp. As he hands found themselves around his waist, their lips softly touched in the heat of the moment. His hands began to explore her body and the softness of her skin on his fingers made his heart beat that little bit faster. As they broke for air, they looked each other in the eyes and realised that they both wanted the same thing. She quickly removed her dress as he removed his shirt. She jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist as he held onto her legs, before placing her onto the table and going to shut the kitchen door. It was going to be a long night.


	17. Chapter 17

The sunlight of a new day piled itself through the gap of his curtains, illuminating half of his face and the room. Like the previous morning, he cursed the gap in the curtains and turned to his side, being met with the same sight as last time. She lay inside of the covers, her hands resting under her head and her lips separated with each breath. He brought his hand under his head and propped himself up, not daring to take his eyes off her. The room was peaceful, the only sound occasionally coming from the birds outside, so he lay and listened to her breathing, faintly making out her heartbeat as he did so. Eventually, he rolled over to the other side and glanced at his phone. He was going to be late at this rate. After persuading himself to move, he got out of the bed and tucked the cover back onto the bed and over her leg that hung out of the open edge. After getting dressed, he quietly made his way downstairs and grabbed a piece of toast before heading for the door, silently shutting it behind him in an effort not to wake her. Hopping into his car, he glanced up at his bedroom and saw the crack in the window, a hint of blue passing though the gap in his curtain. Smiling to himself, he got into his car and drove away, picturing her hazel eyes on his journey to work.

She awoke to the sound of a closing door, presuming he might have left the bedroom, instead, he had left the whole house. She quickly removed herself from the covers and looked out the window to see his truck driving away down the road. Looking down at herself, she quickly realised her attire and stepped away from the window, pulling the curtains shut as she did so. After grabbing another one of his long shirts, she headed downstairs and started making breakfast, something she knew she wouldn't mess up. After eating a slice of toast or two, her phone vibrated on the table and she noticed the time. Realising that today was Monday, she jumped up from her chair and ran out of the door, stuffing her shoes onto her feet as she moved down the path. Her bag and items chucked into the passenger seat, she began driving to work, only to realise she wasn't wearing suitable clothes.

After making it to work late and an earful from Erza, he was sent out on a repair job with Natsu and spent most of the journey staring blankly out the window of his truck. It was a lot cleaner than his own, probably due to the fact that Bunny girl would often ask Natsu to drive her places.

"Hello? Earth to metal head" Gajeel grunted and looked over at the person responsible for interrupting his train of thought "I said you still owe me for the other night"

"What ya mean flamy?"

"After I won our drinking contest, you owe me"

"Hah" he rolled his eyes at Natsu, directing his attention back to what lay outside his window "Being carried home by the bunny ain't exactly a win yanno"

"She was taking us both home, we live together, unlike you and Levy"

"Tch, whatever, it was a draw, but next time I'm gonna win for sure"

"In your dreams. What uh, happened between you two anyway?" Natsu looked over to Gajeel as they pulled up outside the customers house. He turned off the ignition and just as about Gajeel was about to step out of the car, his hand grabbed onto him, stopping his movements. "You heard me, I know she stayed the night, you didn't hurt her or anything?

"Get off me" His swung his arm, shaking Natsus grip off him. "No I didn't now lets work" He stepped out of the car and headed to the back and grabbed their tools. It was going to be a long day. After just over an hour, their job was going swiftly and they would be done soon. Natsu had gone off to talk to the customer about payment and other things. His hand delved into his pocket and fished out his phone, staring down at the empty screen. Nothing. He opened up his texts and typed out something before quickly deleting it. He cursed himself in his mind for being such a coward, sure he could handle himself in a fight, but texting her? This was different. He stared down at her name, absorbing the letters as the thought of her swam through his mind. He would be kidding himself if he said he hadn't been thinking about her the whole morning. Her smile flashed into memory whenever the customer smiled at him when she watched him work. The blueness of his toolbox reminded him of her beautiful locks of azure. She was everywhere, apart from beside him.

"Text her" a voice came from over his shoulder. Gajeel turned to find Nastu stood behind him, a small smirk on his face.

"Stop snooping on me Salamander, besides, I have nothing to say to her"

"I'm sure you'll think of something" Natsus hand patted Gajeel on the back before he picked up his toolbox and started heading for the door. "Oh and by the way, Lucy says she likes spending time with you, good sign huh" Gajeel looked back down at his phone and smiled at her name. He finally knew what to say.


	18. Chapter 18

She pulled her car into a vacant spot outside her apartment complex and looked around the street for anyone in sight, hoping to not be seen in just another mans shirt. With the coast clear, she ran inside the doors and bolted up the stairs, not risking running into anyone in the lift. Eventually reaching the top, she pushed the key into the door and almost fell head first onto the floor. Her legs still weren't used to the climb, especially not in a rush. Regaining her breath, she quickly hopped into the shower, rinsing away the smell of last night, the last thing she needed was anyone asking about her new fragrance. Changing into her usual attire, she grabbed his shirt and went to toss it into her dirty laundry basket before remembering who its owner was. She let the fabric fall through her fingers as she brought it to her face, embracing its strong smell, smiling at the memories of their night together. The buzzing of her phone brought her back from her thoughts and realised she was still late for work.

"Hello, yes I know I'm late I'm so sorry I had to uh.. Deal with a family issue, I'll be in as soon as possible" She hung up the phone before the voice on the end could even get a word in. She grabbed her belongings and stuffed them into her bag before heading for the door. As she hurried down the stairs, her phone began to ring once again. Digging her hand into her bag, she fished out the phone and answered without a second thought.

"Look, I already told you I'm on the way, I'm sorry I'm late and I'll-" She paused mid sentence after hearing the faint sound of laughter on the other end.

"Levy-Chan, you didn't need to tell me you were late" The voice on the end said though a fit of giggles

"Oh my goodness Lu, I'm so sorry, I had no idea. What with my boss already wondering where I am, I'm honestly such a mess" Levy slowed her pace and began descending the stairs a lot slower in order to keep up with the conversation.

"Don't worry about it, how was last night?"

"It was um, eventful to say the least" a smile arose on her face and it took all of her strength not to tell her friend all about it.

"Well, did you get your clothes back at least, since I doubt Gajeel has no use for that dress" a small giggle came from the other end of the line as she seemed to be imagining the sight of him in the dress. As she reached the door, realisation hit Levy

"I uh, actually didn't" She had now left two outfits at his place, if any more of her clothes were at his place, she'd might as well be living there. Levy froze at the thought of all her things being there, at her being there with him. His room formed in his room, everything from the clothes in his wardrobe to the crack in his curtain. She stood motionless, as her mind took her through everything, from them cooking together, to making love together.

"Hellooo? Levyyy?"

"Huh, what?" She snapped out of her daydream to the voice coming from the other end of the call

"I said, Natsu is gonna deal with him for you ok? now get to work!"

"He really doesn't have to do th- oh my goodness I'm so late" She grabbed the door handle and bolted for her car, quickly mumbling goodbye to Lucy as she shoved her phone back into her bag and headed to work at lightning speed. After a rushed apology to the head, she organised herself at her desk and tried to focus on the job at hand. Levy had only been working at Magnolia University for a few weeks but had been settling in with no trouble, apart from being late today that is. Although she had chosen not to study here herself, she enjoyed tutoring the students one on one, as they were easier to handle. As her next student came in, she quickly set him off to work as her mind focused itself on the stack of papers lying on her desk. If there was one thing she didn't like too much about the job, it was being strict with her critiquing and hoped she'd soon be on good enough terms with her students to talk to them. As she began reading though the pile of essays, the words on the page seemed to trail off into space, loosing all meaning as her mind focused on other things. All she could picture was him. The way he was so gentle with her, yet knew how to be rough and wild, enough to drive her crazy. He treated her body like a shrine, each delicate touch sending her wild and her pleasure souring. Her mouth began to become moist and she licked her lips at the though, just him moving his tongue over her and his hands..

"Miss?" A voice shattered her dreams and she snapped back into reality. Her student was looking up at her with a confused face, his work scattered the across the table, resembling her thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh I'm so sorry how can I help" She quickly rubbed her hand over her mouth to remove any saliva and shot him a smile, hoping he wasn't enquiring about why her lips had been that way in the first place.

"Your phone.. Its been going off quite a lot in your bag" Levy quickly picked up her bag and her hand delved inside to fish out the phone. As she went to place it on silent, she quickly glanced at the name on the screen. It was him.

"I'm so sorry, will you excuse me for a minute, its an uh, emergency" She moved from her chair and headed for the door, leaving the boy to his work, she would owe him something for this. Checking the hallway was empty, she leaned herself against the wall and unlocked her phone, quickly opening his message.

Hey shorty, heard you left your clothes at mine again, guess you'll have to come around again ;) - Gajeel

A blush rose to her face as she cursed Lucys name, last time she trusted her with anything personal.

I'm so sorry, honestly I realised when I stepped into my car but I had no way back inside the house, it won't happen again.

She hit send. But, it just didn't feel right, I mean, he had invited her over again, maybe last night wasn't just a one night thing. She stood and thought for a moment, before typing something else out

And I guessss I'll have to come round again, but if I leave behind another set of clothes I might as well have my own cupboard.

She laughed. Then she worried. Then her mind went into overdrive, had she really just said that. Her body sank down the wall till she was on the floor in a ball, her head rested atop her knees. She pushed her phone to the side, begging that somehow the message deleted itself, or just didn't send at all. She had known the man only a few days, and although the fastness of their sexual encounter wasn't a problem, suggesting living together was. Her hand came to her forehead as she hit herself, cursing her name as she did so. Then, her phone went off.

Not a bad idea, maybe your own key would help too, oh, and you know the set-up shorty - Gajeel

Her hands formed little fists as she waved them in the air from excitement. Butterflies formed in her stomach and her smile practically lit up the darkened hallway. Her mind wanted to stop itself from over thinking but how could she? He was everything she wanted and needed. She felt something more with him.

"Uh, miss?" the door creaked open behind her and a small voice came from within the crack "Are you ok?" a concerned voice asked.

"Oh yes um, don't worry about it, lets get back inside shall we?" she quickly rose from her spot and patter down her dress before walking back inside her office, today was going to be a long one, but the thought of tonight would make the hours fly by.


	19. Chapter 19

Time could not be changed, a fact she had always believed. But recently, time seemed to slow whenever she wanted time to speed up, and time seemed to quicken pace when she wanted to be in a moment forever. After a gruelling few hours of marking, she was out of work and headed home before meeting up at Gajeels house again. The shower was always her favourite place to think, the water trickling down her bare body blocked out all other sounds and provided a safe sanctuary. As she gently rubbed body lotion over her skin, she reminisced about her magical night and how wonderful he was. How wonderful he had been for the past three days that is. She had only known him for a few days and had already jumped into bed with him, what had she been thinking. Levy had always been the type to enjoy a slow and paced relationship, yet all those crumbled and led to eventual breakups. But this, this felt right. Sure, it had been spontaneous but both of them had wanted it right? Both of them liked each other too, right? She quickly continued to scrub hardly on her body, hoping to scrub away any doubts she had with the lotion. It was right, she felt it. After washing herself over, she packed a small bag full of his clothes and got dressed into a casual dress before heading over to his.

Stepping out of the car, she grabbed the two bags along with her purse and made her way to the door. As she walked along the path, she noticed the light pouring through the kitchen curtains, as it did the previous night. But something was different, there was no sound. No singing, no music, no shadow. Dismissing her worries, her knuckles met the wood of the door before his face appeared on the other side, a small smile upon his face.

"Hey shorty" he grinned down at her before quickly placing his hands around her hips. She didn't dare move her body, but when he leaned in to kiss her, she gave him her cheek. He pulled away from her slowly, a confused look on his face, before releasing her from his grip and allowing her inside. As she walked into the kitchen, he stood quietly alone in the hallway as the nights breeze blew in through the doorway, sending a small shiver down his back. Closing the door, he slowly made his way back into the kitchen to find her standing beside a chair, bag in hand.

"Here" she thrust the bag into his chest, not daring to give him any eye contact in fear he would see how she really felt. She quickly sat down at the table, making sure he couldn't answer. As he placed the bag down to the side, he grabbed two bowls full of liquid and placed one in front of her, before taking his place opposite her. As she picked up her spoon, he watched in silence as she slowly consumed the food, not daring to take her eyes off of her bowl.

"Levy." He quietly spoke. Her head slowly lifted and her huge eyes met his. "Are you ok? You seem kinda quiet yanno" his eyes averted to his own food as he slowly started eating.

"Yeah, just, its been a long day"

"Alright" the pair sat in silence for a while, the only sound coming from cutlery chiming against bowls. Occasionally, his crimson eyes would glance over at his dining companion, watching her carefully push back curls of her blue hair out of her face. After finishing, he placed his empty bowl on the side, before getting up to retrieve hers. His body moved behind hers, hands wrapping around her body, his hands couldn't help themselves. They found their way onto her hips, slowly moving up her body, eventually tangling themselves within her hair. She let out a small noise as he massaged her scalp, tilting her head in pleasure. He took this as an invitation and brought his head into her neck, sinking his lips into her skin.

"Stop" her voice echoed in his ears, her hand coming up to his head. "What are we" His head rose as she turned to face him, questioning the words she had just uttered "What are we?" the words escaped her mouth again as she stood to her feet.

"What ya mean?"

"Do you like me" she puffed her cheeks and her eyes filled with emotion.

"Well yeah, course I do"

"And, you're not just talking about last night?"

"Of course I liked last night" As the words left his mouth, her arms crossed and her postured tilted "But, it ain't all 'bout that" his hand slowly moved to hers, entwining his fingers with her own.

"Then lets take it slow" her hands moved from her chest and fell to her side, her body slowly moving towards his.

"I can go as slow as ya want" His hand cupped the side of her face as he brought her close enough to kiss, her soft lips cushioning his own. His hand moved its way from her cheek to the back of her head, pushing her closed into his grasp. Her hand made its way down his chest, tracing the outline of his abs, before softly pushing him away, parting their lips for air.

"Fuck slow"

"What?"

"Lets go" her body slid out of his grasp as she headed for the door, pulling him along with her, leading him upstairs for the night.


	20. Chapter 20

"Stupid sun" he quietly moaned to himself, afraid of waking the sleeping beauty beside him. They never did fix that stupid crack in the curtain. For months, he had awoken to watch her sleeping, never daring to wake her from her slumber, she always looked so fragile. Turning his body, his eyes fell over her body, bawled up between the sheets, silently dreaming. Saturdays like this were his favourite, every weekend she stayed at his place made his house feel more like a home. As he continued to watch her sleep, her eyes slowly fluttered open, a small smile forming on her face as she awoke. Hazel eyes fell over his body as her hands removed themselves from underneath her head and placed themselves softly on his bare chest.

"Good morning" she spoke softly, noting the little black ball of fur that quietly rested at the end of the bed

"Morning" he spoke quietly, pulling her body closer to his, not caring about the coldness of her skin, especially when her touch made him feel so warm, so loved. As her head nestled into his body, his fingers entangled themselves within her blue locks, slowly massaging the back of her head as he did so. After a while, she eventually moved from his touch and slipped out from the bed, grabbing a towel from a nearby chair and headed for the door. Before she could leave, his hand met her arm, stopping her mid stride before slowly dragging her back to the bed. His arms wound themselves around her waist, pulling her back against his chest, slowly leaving a trail of kisses down her body. After a while of teasing, she eventually escaped his grasp and headed for the bathroom whilst calling out

"You cook, I clean" before the bathroom door shut behind her. His hands fell to his knees as he shook his head, a small smirk plastered upon his face. He threw on a clean workout shirt and tracksuit bottoms before heading downstairs. Tying back his hair in a loose ponytail, he strapped on a small apron and began whipping up a batch of pancake mix, her favourite.

Stepping out of the shower, she glanced at herself in the fogged up mirror, barely making out the shape of her body as her fingers explored her soft skin, stopping at her curves, finding them imprinted with his soft fingerprints from last night. Searching the shelves, she finally found one of her hair ties and tied back her curls of hair into a bun before getting dressed. Strolling down the stairs in an orange dress and slippers, her senses were met with the delightful smell of food, urging her to quicken her stride into the kitchen. As she entered through the door, he quickly turned around to greet her, too quickly for him to handle though. As he spun on the spot, the pancake cooking in the pan slowly slipped out of his grip and fell to the floor, bringing the room to silence. Their eyes both glanced down at the half cooked puddle on the floor, waiting for something to happen. His eyes dared not to move, until the sound of her laugher made its way into his ears, causing him to avert his attention to a small ball of clothing lying on the floor in a fit of giggles. His feet avoided the pancake puddle as he stepped over towards her, bending down to her level as he placed a hand on her back. Her watery eyes looked to him, a giant smile beaming over her as she held onto her stomach in an attempt to regain her breath

"You think its funny shorty?" He questioned

"Y- yes" she burst out in between giggles

"You'll pay for that" he quickly moved his hands onto her waist and picked her up from the floor, joining in with his own laugher as she began to squeal to be put down. As he sprinted for the door, his foot found itself squelching in the pancake mess, causing to lose his footing and fall flat on his back, with Levy landing comfortably on his stomach. The room fell silent as they both took in the events that had just occurred, with her still lying in a ball atop his chest, eventually falling back into a fit of giggles at Gajeel. As she continued to laugh, his hands traced over her body, moving along her back until they came to the ribbon that held her dress to her body. Working his fingers quickly, they unlooped her bow and the strands fell down her back before her hand stopped him.

"I have to go meet Lucy, and I need to stop at mine before I go" She slowly moved from his body and retied the back of her dress as he picked himself off the floor. grabbing her bag that hung over the back of the chair. Picking himself off the ground, he eventually stood to his feet before moving behind her as she moved for her bag. His arms fell on her shoulders and hung down her chest as he rested his chin on her head

"It would be so much easier if you lived with me" he quietly muttered into her ear

"Yeah, I guess it would" she sighed back as she leaned into his arms.

"Then why don't you"

"Why don't I what?"

"Move in with me" his hands moved back to her shoulders and turned her to face him, his eyes full of emotion. She stared back him, astonished at his statement, but before long, her eyes began to water as she quickly pushed her face into the cloth of his shirt, burrowing away from his eyes. "I mean, you stay round every weekend, and we've been together for 4 months now, and I know that you-"

"Yes" her short reply caught him off guard, stopping him mid sentence. As he looked down, her face slowly moved away from his chest and he was met with tear filled eyes, her cheeks blushed red as she met his gaze. Her small arms quickly wrapped around his body as he followed suit, picking her up once again and making a beeline for the door, narrowly missing the puddle this time. Reaching the stairs, she formed a fist with her hand and punched him softly in the back

"Gajeel! I have to go meet Lucy soon"

"This is more important, she can wait" he quickly slipped his arms under her thighs as he rushed upstairs, ignoring the protests she gave with every step. As he reached their room, he slowly dropped her on the bed before going to shut the door behind them. Standing in the door frame, a small smile crept onto his face. He was happy. Her voice called for his presence back by her side, shutting the door behind him, starting a new chapter of his life.


End file.
